Vegetable bagara rice is a quick, aromatic, flavorful rice dish from Hyderabad cuisine. Mixed vegetables and fragrant basmati rice are cooked in a tempering of whole spices and herbs.
Instant Pot at least 3 cups capacity if using Instant pot method
Ingredients
3tablespoonOil
4Cloves
6Cardamons
1Bay Leave
1Biryani Flower
1inchCinnamon stick
½teaspoonShah Jeera
1medium sized Onion sliced
½cupMethi choppedopt
½bunch Mint chopped1 cup
6Green Chiliescut in half, vertically
1tablespoonGinger Garlic Paste
2small Carrots cut into 1″ length1 cup
12Beans string cut into 1″ length1 cup
1small – medium sized Potato cut into thick wedges1 cup
1cupfrozen Lima Beans
2cupsRice soaked in water for 30 minutes
Cilantro
1 -2teaspoonGhee
Instructions
Wash rice and soak for at least 30 minutes. You start cooking/tempering after soaking rice for at least 20-25 minutes.
Rice Cooker
Heat oil in a pan and toast cloves, cardamoms, bay leaves, biryani flower, cinnamon, shah jeera in oil.
Sauté onions until light brown. Add methi (fenugreek) leaves along with onions, if using.
Add mint, ginger garlic paste, green chilies and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the vegetables except lima beans stir fry for a minute and add lima beans. Continue to sauté for another minute.
Add rice and fry for 2 minutes, add salt.
Transfer to rice cooker, add 3 ½ cups of water.
Sprinkle cilantro, ghee and power the rice cooker. It takes about 20 minutes to cook.
Once the cooker shuts off, let it rest for 10-15 minutes and serve hot.
Stovetop
Use a saucepan, sauté pan or a dutch oven. Follow above steps until step #5.
Add water, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cook until rice is almost done.
Add ghee, give a good stir, sprinkle kotmir, cover and cook on low flame until rice is done and water evaporates.
Instant Pot
In sauté mode prepare the tempering by following all the steps until step 5 mentioned under rice cooker instructions.
Then cancel ‘Sauté’ setting. Add water, 1 : 1¼ cups rice to water ratio and pressure cook for 2 minutes with vent sealed.
Let pressure release naturally, about 20-25 minutes. Remove the inner pot and keep it aside. otherwise rice will continue to cook from the heat of the Instant pot plate.
Notes
Measuring cup - 1 cup is 180 ml. I used the measuring cup that comes with the rice cooker.
Rice - Use good quality extra long grain basmati rice. Soak rice for at least 30 minutes.
Vegetables - Do not over load with lot of vegetables and with too many varieties of vegetables. Keep it minimalistic with just beans and carrots, and green peas or pigeon peas or lima beans. Potatoes are optional but taste good.